


20%

by nevereverever



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Not in canon but also not against canon, Panic Attacks, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-05 16:02:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12797811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevereverever/pseuds/nevereverever
Summary: Betty can take care of herself. She knows that, and so does everyone around her. But sometimes, you have to lean on those who love you.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks, this is some hot garbage. The document I wrote it in is titled "Hot Garbage", but it's cute and sad and made me feel things so I'm sharing it in hopes you will like it. Enjoy!!!

“So basically, I have the house all to myself while my parents are gone,” Betty said, taking a sip of the milkshake on the table in front of her.

“Wow, are you going to throw a wild party for all of Riverdale’s Southside hooligans while they’re out of reach?” Jughead asked, doing his very best Alice Cooper. Betty let out a little giggle and rolled her eyes.

“Absolutely. You know me,” she responded. She meant to continue her sentence, but she had to stop when a bolt of pain ran through her head like lightning.

“Betty? You okay?” Jughead said, reaching across the table for her hand. By the time he got there, the pain had mostly passed, turning from life-altering to a dull throb.

“Yeah. Brain freeze,” she said, brushing off his concern and redirecting the conversation. The pain lingered for the rest of their meal, but she did her best to ignore it. Just an advil and she would be right as rain.

By the time she got home, she was shivering. She locked the door and ran as quickly as she could to the thermostat to turn the heat up a notch. She wanted more than anything to curl up in bed and sleep for a year, but she had work to do. She took out her computer to work and put it out of her mind how much her hands were shaking.

When she finished her article for the Blue and Gold, she tried not to take notice of how she was incredibly nauseous. She barely let herself think of it until she was getting ready for bed and she couldn’t even think about brushing her teeth without puking up her guts.

By the time she felt pitiful enough to text Jughead for help (she didn’t want Archie to panic), she could barely keep her eyes open from exhaustion. She could barely even move because of how every action triggered mind bending pain and nausea.

From Betts   
I’m sick. Please come.

From Juggie <3  
omw cutie

When he found her, she was curled up on the bathroom floor shaking and crying. As much as she hated the word perfect, she hated the word pitiful more.

“Oh Betty,” he sighed before getting to the floor and gathering her up in his arms. She let her head come to rest on his chest and her eyes drifted shut.

“I’m tired, Juggie,” she practically whimpered. He rubbed her back as she shivered, and she just barely smiled. In return, he beamed.

“Are you going to be sick again?” he asked, and received a little head shake as an answer, “Okay. Let’s get you to bed then.” As carefully as he could, he pulled her into his arms and stood, doing his very best not to jostle her. He set her down on her bed as softly as possible and made sure she was covered in blankets before curling up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“This is a pretty wild party,” Betty whispered with her teeth clenched. He laughed a little at that. Alice Cooper definitely wouldn't approve.

 

The first thing Betty felt when she woke up was pain. She peered up at the world with bleary eyes, hoping to God that if she just stayed still enough time wouldn’t pass and she wouldn’t have to go to class. Unfortunately it didn’t work, and when her alarm went off she carefully squirmed out of Jughead’s hold and somewhat woozily grabbed her bag off the floor. 

“Betty,” Jughead said sleepily, “Where are you going?”

“I gotta go to class,” Betty slurred, “I have school. You have school.” 

“You’re sick.” Jughead grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back to bed. Stubborn as ever, Betty managed to shake him off, and stumbled to the bus stop just in time to catch it.

On the bus ride Betty was uncomfortably dizzy, incredibly nauseous, and unbelievably cold. She felt as if she could just melt and fade away into pain and nothingness if she so much as closed her eyes. But she had class, she had to go to class. She just barely made it to the room on time and slipped into a desk in the back. 

As class drove on she could feel her energy depleting, and she started shivering harder. Her head hurt, everything hurt, and she was so dizzy. She could barely breathe at all, but she had to pay attention to class. When she shot a glance at Archie and Veronica, they were both gazing at her will faces filled with concern. 

When class finished she stood, and suddenly the whole world constricted in on her. Everything got so tight and she couldn’t breathe, not at all. She wondered if she was going to die as her vision faded to black and her already shaky legs gave out from under her.

 

Jughead knew something was wrong, like really really wrong, when he picked up his phone after second period and had no less than 12 missed calls. Every single one of them was from Veronica who never called unless it was an emergency (it wasn’t her “style”). Jughead called her back, impatiently tapping his foot against the linoleum floors of Southside High.

She picked up almost immediately. “Jughead.” She said, voice watery and breaking.

“Vee, what's going on?” Jughead replied, he asked in his typical nonchalant way, trying his best to stay calm.

“Betty. She’s sick, we're at the hospital. St. Mary’s. God, Jughead please get here.” She broke down into sobs, clearly trying to muffle her tears with her hand. Jughead could barely move, barely think. She just had the flu. There was a sound over the phone like an exchange of hands.

“Jug, it's Archie. Veronica is kinda shaken up. We were in class and Betty didn’t look good at all. But you know her, she just tried to power through it. And when class was over she stood up and she just fell so hard.” Archie sounded on the verge of tears herself.

“Okay.” Jughead summoned the will to respond, “Okay, I'm coming.” He ran out of the crowded hallway and grabbed his motorcycle, absences be damned. He has crystal clear focus somehow. Betty was his everything. The wind beneath his wings, the apple of his eye, and a million other cheesy things he wouldn’t be caught dead saying to anyone but her. As soon as his feet hit the hospital parking lot he was running, going as fast as he could if it meant he could get to her even a second quicker.

He spotted Veronica and Archie across the lobby and was next to them in an instant. Veronica drew him into a hug, clearly a little closer to reality than before.

“What happened?” Jughead asked again, desperation evident in his shaky voice.

“She's got a bad fever. She was burning up, holding her after she fell was like holding a furnace. She was breathing so fast, her lips were turning blue,” Veronica said, still holding tightly onto him.

“Give him some space Ronnie.” Archie gently reminded. With a little watery giggle, she let go, and Jughead took a seat next to her.

“I was with her last night. I should have done something, anything.” Jughead whispered to himself. He settled his head in his hands, suddenly exhausted as the adrenaline of the initial call wore off. 

“Don't blame yourself for this,” Veronica said. She put a hand on Jug’s back and left it there. It was nice, comforting. He took a deep breath in, but all the hospital smell did was serve to remind him that Betty was sick and he couldn’t fix it. 

“Betty Cooper?” A female voice called from across the waiting room. Jughead stood as if on instinct, a little headrush knocking him off balance.

“Yes, I'm here for her,” Jughead said, wiping his hand across his face to dry his residual tears. He had to be strong. 

“I'm afraid I don't have much good news to give you. Ms. Cooper has a dangerously high fever and heart rate. We've taken some blood to run tests but those results won't be back for a few hours. At this point we're just trying to manage the symptoms,” The nurse said, as she placed a comforting hand on Jughead’s shoulder. “Would you like to see her?”

Jughead nodded mutely, and followed the nurse back through some twisting hallways and through a big set of double doors labeled ICU. He followed her to a bedside, and it was there that he truly broke.

Betty looked so small. She was a small person, but she looked so much smaller, so pale. The sweater she had left in that morning was replaced with a hospital gown, her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, and she was shaking so much Jughead swore he could see the bed move.

“Oh,” Jughead sighed, tears once again swelling in his eyes. He moved towards the bed and took hold of Betty’s hand, and grimaced when he felt the heat rolling off his girlfriend's body. 

The nurse left after a minute, leaving him alone with Betty. He didn't know what to do, what to think other than the love of his life could be dying. This wasn’t how their Romeo and Juliet was supposed to end. He clung to Betty's hand, brushed kisses across her knuckles, swept hair out of her face. 

“Jug,” Betty whispered after what felt like hours.

“Betty.” Jughead said, squeezing her hand. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. He wanted to make a joke but he couldn’t find anything funny about their situation. 

“I’m cold.” Betty rasped in response. She was still shivering like something was rumbling beneath her skin. 

“I’m so sorry. I would take it away in a second if I could,” he said, carding his fingers through Betty's hair to offer some comfort.

“M’okay,” Betty hummed, leaning into her boyfriend's touch. Veronica was right, she was like a furnace, and Jughead’s warm hand felt like ice against her skin.

“Only you would protest that you are okay while you’re in the hospital. Just you Betty.” Jughead said, just a hint of a smile creeping into his voice.

“I’m okay now that you’re here,” Betty said, her eyes fluttering closed. She looked like she could barely hold her head up, “I’m scared Jug.”

“No. Don’t be, you’ll be okay. You’re Betty Cooper. You’ve caught a serial killer goddamnit. There is no way some stupid germ can take you down ” Jughead responded. A flicker of a smile crossed her lips. He squeezed Betty’s hand a little harder, as if he could take the pain and fear away. Betty let out a slow breath and sank back into fevered and unquiet sleep. He usually loved watching Betty sleep. The way her chest rose and fell, her calm expression, her tousled hair just exuded peace. But not now because now each out breath was tainted with a groan and her face was pinched with pain.

Betty was still asleep when the doctor returned. Jughead scrambled for a moment, reaching for his girlfriend's hand. Betty stirred a little, blinking her eyes open.

“Mrs. Cooper, we're fairly certain that you have sepsis, or blood poisoning. Your blood tests and symptoms line up with what we usually see in these cases. Unfortunately, we've not yet been able to determine the cause of the underlying infection.” 

Jughead paled at the words. Sepsis was serious. People died from that. Betty might die from that.

There was a pause, a deafening silence ,“Because we don't know what caused this, treatment will be tough. We're going to start administering antibiotics, and for now, we’re going to run more tests and treat the symptoms as best we can to stop Ms. Cooper’s condition from sepsis to septic shock. You’re the husband?” The doctor asked, turning to Jughead.

“Boyfriend, but yes.” Jughead answered, stumbling over his words.

“We’re going to move rooms and intubate Ms. Cooper to prevent hypoxia while her heart and breathing rates are elevated. While that’s happening I suggest you deal with some of the logistics. Calling parent, teachers, friends.” Jughead nodded and gave Betty’s hand a big squeeze. When the doctor left the room, he pressed a soft kiss to his girlfriend’s feverish brow.

“I love you. I won’t be gone long.” he whispered, locking eyes with Betty. Her eyes were glassy from fever and clouded with tears, but they conveyed all of the words they needed to share.

 

When he got to the lobby, Veronica ran up to him with a face full of worry. She had makeup smeared down her face and Archie’s jacket draped over her shoulders. Archie himself was close on her heels.

“Jughead. Is she- is she okay?” Jughead had heard that tone in her voice. It was her “about to fall apart” voice and he really didn’t want to have to deal with her breakdown. As selfish as that was.

“She has- they gave her a diagnosis. Sepsis. Umm… we don’t know a lot, but they think they have it under control. They’re putting her on life support,” he said, trying to tell the truth without her panicking. When he said “life support”, she broke, her face falling. She stumbled towards Archie and cried into his chest. 

“She’ll be okay through?” Archie asked while trying to comfort a crying Veronica. It was clear he had been crying too, but Archie, ever the strong man, was doing his best to keep it together.

“Yeah, umm… there’s about a 20% chance she won’t make it,” Jughead replied before pushing past them to get outside. He had to be strong for her and he really couldn’t deal with his friends breakdowns when he was already dealing with his own. He dashed the tears from his face with the back of his hand and kept walking. 

 

When he finally made his way back to Betty’s new room, with snacks and a change of clothes in tow, he saw his girlfriend hooked up to so many machines it took his breath away. IV, heart monitor, respirator. Betty was dwarfed by all of the equipment around her.   
She didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes, the only indication that she was still alive was the soft rise and fall of her chest (that wasn’t even hers) and the rhythmic beep of the ECG. 

Jughead was terrified that if he looked away, even for a moment, something would happen and Betty would die. It didn’t make any sense and it definitely wasn’t true, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking it. He whispered I love you more times than he could count.

 

 

They had faced the demons outside themselves for so long that they were used to holding hands and walking into the fray. What they weren’t used to was battling something their wit couldn’t fix, something they couldn’t brainstorm their way out of. When the Parents Cooper got back into town, the amount of time he got to spend with her decreased from hours to next to nothing. And it hurt, like an ache in his bones. 

He barely tolerated class knowing that just a few miles away Betty was suffering and there wasn’t a thing he could do. Whenever he was able to sneak a few moments that her mother wasn’t glaring him down, he would hold her hand and tell her about his day, about how much harder every day was without her. He would tell her things that were happening in town, about things that happened to their friends. He just wanted her to be there because she wasn’t, not really. Her body was there, but Betty wasn’t and he needed Betty back.

He was telling her a story about Hotdog and rubbing circles into her palm, about a week after she first arrived in the hospital. She wasn’t on life support anymore, but she still wasn’t conscious most of the time, and in pain when she was.

“So I had to chase him down. Literally just me, running around the trailer park half naked at 2 in the damn morning. Stupid dog,“ he took a little pause and stared at her IV for a second, “you would have laughed at that. At me.” She blinked her eyes open like her eyelids were made of lead, but she fixed her gaze on him. 

“Hurts to laugh,” she said, her voice hoarse, but Betty. “Doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re funny.” He grinned from ear to ear, in the kind of way he only did around friends. A Jughead that wasn’t shared.

“Do you think I’m funny?” he asked, still smiling more than he had in a week. More than he had since they were sitting in their booth at Pop’s. She just barely shook her head no. He chuckled, and she smiled, and then there was a silence, different than the silence when she was sleeping. It was more normal.

“I love you Betty Cooper,” he blurted. He wanted to say it when he knew she could actually hear it. All this time, he had just been hoping she could know, like it could infuse into her if he just said it enough.

She was in pain. Every muscle, bone, and joint in her body was in pain, like she had gotten steamrolled and thrown off a cliff, but she loved him. She loved him so much that she gathered the energy to move her mouth at all.

“Love you too.”

 

The day Betty got home from the hospital was one of the most relieving days of her life. In the hospital, everything in her life was controlled. She wanted more than anything to have her life back.

So when she heard a quiet knock at the window, she pushed herself up on her shaking legs to open it.

“Just like old times huh?” Jughead said, pulling his feet through the window while simultaneously trying not to get dirt everywhere.

“Mhm, exactly,” she murmured, putting a hand on his cheek and pulling him into a kiss. Their mouths slotted together like two pieces of a puzzle. His hands snaked around her waist to pull her closer. He didn't ever want to let go.

“You did a pretty good job not dying Betts,” he said with a little smirk on his face.

“I did,” she replied with a little giggle, “now come sit with me, I’m too tired to keep standing.” She pulled him over to her bed. She flopped down on the bed like a dead weight. He could see a shiver run down her spine as she scooched herself closer to the pillows.

“You’re cold,” he said, as a statement, not a question. 

“I lost 18 pounds in 12 days, yeah I’m cold. Just- just come here and hold me until I’m warm. Okay?” Her voice took a little lilt upward, in the way it did when she was unsure of herself. LIke she was worried he’d say no.

“Anything for you Betty. Always.” He curled up behind her and smiled when he heard her little sigh of relief. He ran a hand down her back and let it come to rest on her hip. It was too jagged, evidence of the struggle they had gone through.

“It might come back. That's what they said today, that because they don't know what caused it, I might just all of a sudden have sepsis again.” She sniffles a little and pulled her hand away from his to wipe her face. 

He took a breath, just enough time to figure out what to say. “I can't tell you that won't happen. But you fought it and you beat it Betty. If it comes back, you can do it again. And don't you worry, I'll always be right behind you.” There was a pause.

“I love you,” she said, flipping over so she could bury her face in his chest.

“I love you too.” He ran his hand down her spine and could feel each of her vertebrae, but he wasn't worried. They had time and milkshakes to spare.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't help myself! Here's some cute junk

6 Months Later

From Betts  
Hey, help?

From Juggy <3  
Help how? You okay?

From Betts  
Come home soon

From Juggy <3  
Okay. Something wrong?

She didn’t text him back. She always texted him back, and quickly. He knew he shouldn’t be too worried, but there was a tremble in his hands when he shut his laptop. But maybe that was just the caffeine.

He wasn’t far from their apartment, just working on his new manuscript in the coffee shop down the block. Nevertheless, he broke into a light jog to get back to her. Anything for her. The tremble was back in his hands as he fumbled to unlock the door to the apartment.

“Betty? I’m home,” he said, closing the door lightly behind him. Betty didn’t respond, but he heard a muffled sobbing in their bedroom and couldn’t keep his feet from running.

He found her leaning against the headboard of the bed with her knees pulled to her chest, breathing at light speed. Her face was stark white and her hair disheveled.

“Hey babe, take a deep breath for me.” He went to sit cross legged in front of her, and put a hand on her knee. “Tell me something you can see.” 

“Your hat,” she said between breaths. Her eyes were wide, but as soon as she said it, they locked with his.

“Good. Can you try a breath again?” She nodded and took a shaky breath in and quickly pushed it out. “Okay, what are three things you can feel?” Betty’s eyes squeezed closed for a second, and she let out another breath, slower this time.

“The pillow is soft, your hand is warm, my toes are cold,” she said, taking a deep breath between each item. She opened her eyes just to see his face.

“Yeah. You did good.” He went to the next step in his list. He wanted more than anything to hold her tight and never let go, but he also had to finish his list. They sat in silence for a while, breathing in tandem. Slowly, her breaths returned to normal.

“Hey,” she whispered once she got her breath back. 

“Hey,” Jughead responded, “doin’ better?”

She let out a slow breath, “I feel a lot better now. Thanks for coming home,” she said, swiping the tears from her cheeks with a little smile. He moved from his spot across from her and sat himself next to her. Reflexively she put her head on his shoulder.

“Of course. You want to talk about it?” He moved his hand so it was resting on her thigh. 

“I was finishing up an essay, and I stood up and got dizzy. That was all it took,” she said, moving a little closer to Jughead so she could wrap her arms around his waist. 

“I’m sorry Betts. You don’t deserve this,” he said with a sigh, “it really sucks that you caught a disease and then the disease decided to turn into a mental illness. That’s stupid.” He felt her laugh a little and it made everything a little better.

“Yeah. It’s really stupid.”

 

3 years later

“Babe, we’re out of honey!” Betty’s rough voice pulled him from sleep. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was their clock. 7:30 on a Monday, and his blanket was gone. Splendid.

“I can get some from the store after my meeting with Julia.” Jughead responded as he stumbled into the kitchen. And what a sight to behold. His gorgeous Betty, wrapped in his blanket, reaching for the tea in their top cabinet. Her nose was a little red, her cheeks a little flushed, and her eye bags were a little darker than usual. She started to speak but he cut her off.

“You’re sick.” She tried to object but he was quicker. “Betty Cooper, you are sick” he crossed the floor of their tiny kitchen in a few quick strides and pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Jug, it isn’t bad at all,” she protested when he pulled away to get their thermometer. She made a little noise of dissent when he shoved it in her mouth.

“Babe, please, please, please come back to bed. Even if you don’t feel that bad, just get back into bed,” he said. When the thermometer beeped, he pulled it out of her mouth.

“Juggy, I have to go to work. I have a layout deadline tomorrow,” she said, trying to pull away from him.

“100.2. You can’t argue with science Betts! Science always wins,” he said, flourishing the thermometer like a conductor’s baton. He give her a quick peck on the forehead and watched as her disappointed pout turned into a soft smile.

In one quick movement, he swept her off her feet. She made another noise of protest, but didn’t speak until he plopped her back down on their bed.

“You going to work soon?” Betty sniffled a little but her smile didn’t fade. 

“No, of course I’m not. You’re sick. I’m taking care of you. I’ll go get you some tea. And some ibuprofen. And some sudafed,” he said as he walked back to the kitchen to retrieve all of the things to make her better.

When he got back with all the things, Betty had somehow retrieved her computer and started working. With a sigh, Jughead handed her the tea and medication.

“If you get any worse, I’m taking you to urgent care,” Jughead said once she’d taken all of the meds and set the tea back down. She laughed at that until her laughs turns into a coughing fit.

“Juggy, it’s okay. I’ve just got a cold,” she said once she got her breath back. Jughead nodded, his lips sealed tight. “Babe, I promise. If I get worse I’ll tell you-“

“I just. I can’t let it happen to you again Betty,” Jughead replied, cutting her off, “If that means worrying about every cold, so be it.” 

She took a deep breath, set aside her computer, and put a hand on his cheek to draw him into a kiss. It was soft and chaste because she didn’t want to get him sick, but it still made him feel a little fuzzy.

“Babe, it’s not coming back. The chance of that now are so small. I’ve just got a cold. Okay?” She pressed her forehead against his.

“Yeah, okay. I’m still not going to work though,” he said, falling in such a way that his head landed in her lap.

“Jughead Jones, are you using my life threatening illness to play hooky with your editor?” She put her hand on her mouth in an exaggerated faux surprise.

“No- this is just more important than my meeting with Julia could ever possibly be,” he replied, a smirk creeping onto his face. His Betty knew him so well.

“It’s just a cold! But I’ll allow it as long as you stay in bed with me and get me tea and toast,” she said, grinning because she couldn’t gather the energy to stay fake mad at him.

“Of course, gorgeous. Do you want toast or hugs because until I can be in two places at once it can’t be both,” Jughead said, matching her grin.

“Hugs,” she stated resolutely. His little salute in response triggered more laughs and more coughs, and he didn’t feel quite calm again until she was wrapped snugly in his arms. A little snuffly and a little warm, but happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly! Thanks for reading folks!!! Leave me a comment if you liked it <3

**Author's Note:**

> You made it to the end? Nice. Thank you so much for reading. Leave a comment if you liked it, they make my heart soar <3


End file.
